Norwegian reports 25 percent passenger growth in March

Norwegian carried more than 1.8 million passengers in March 2014, an increase of 25 percent compared to the same month last year. The capacity growth was 51 percent, in absolute terms the

highest capacity growth in a single month.

In March, 1,805,551 passengers flew with Norwegian. This is an increase of 25 percent compared to the same month last year. The total passenger traffic (RPK) increased by 52 percent, while the capacity (ASK) increased by 51 percent this month. This represents an increase of 1.2 billion seat kilometres, the largest ever capacity increase in a single month. The load factor was 77.8 percent in March, up 0.2 percentage points.

Despite the increase in load factor, this year’s late Easter holiday impacted the load factor negatively in March.

“The capacity growth is record high this month, due to the establishment of new bases outside Scandinavia combined with the launch of several new routes and frequencies throughout our route network. Even with strong capacity growth and this year’s late Easter holiday, the load factor is higher than the same month last year. This proves that Norwegian delivers its promise of great quality at low fares,” said Norwegian’s CEO Bjørn Kjos.

In March, Norwegian took delivery of one brand new Boeing 737-800 aircraft and one 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Norwegian will take delivery of 14 Boeing 737-800 aircraft and four 787 Dreamliners during 2014. Norwegian boasts one of the most modern and environmentally friendly fleets in Europe.

Norwegian operated 99.7 percent of its scheduled flights in March, whereof 87.1 percent departed on time.